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Universities were long regarded as the institutions to attend to acquire a lifelong career. However, over the years, and especially following the pandemic, it became clear that there is a large disconnect between having a bachelor’s degree and job market needs. When it comes to tech, we call this disconnect the “tech skills gap” – the difference between the supply of skills following graduation and the industry demand for certain skills to perform jobs effectively.
Take technology degrees’ curricula. In many cases, across the world, it is outdated. For example, the University of California Los Angeles, the United States’ top public university, has been ousted for having outdated computer science courses. Additionally, the curriculum focuses more on theoretics rather than building hands-on, relevant computer science skills.
Universities usually remain research driven, prioritize theoretical lessons, move too slowly, and aren’t adaptive to the needs of the industry and their students. As a result, the global tech skills gap deepens and widens.
What can be done to change that?
We begin by looking at the changes in the education and hiring landscapes. People aren’t going to school simply to learn. They want to make a comfortable living, have stable jobs, and long-term career prospects.
Many people, especially older generations and parents, think that this pathway requires having a degree. That is no longer the case! In the United States alone, an Indeed survey revealed that 59% of employers are dropping the degree requirement for vacant jobs.
A new era is upon us. A kid can learn how to code on YouTube. Employers are focusing on experience and results. Universities are no longer the go-to option for tech training.
To make universities more suitable for this new age, we need to improve the connection between what jobs are in demand and how institutions can teach students the needed skills for such top jobs.
Degrees should be connected to professions and jobs, not only for research. Internships and hands-on experiences should be required as part of the degree. Educators should be teaching soft skills, such as collaboration and presentation, while enforcing technical skills in the digital space and metaverse.
Most of all, colleges need to self-assess and change! Knowledge is constantly evolving. Understanding that we need to learn, unlearn, relearn, and upskill throughout our lives needs to be the new normal. Colleges should look at the job market for the top dollar skills and mold programs to teach students exactly that. Overall, practicality and career-oriented concepts equip graduates for life.
Private universities have been at the forefront of improving higher education. Trial and error was pertinent for private universities to offer tech training modules.
Many universities began with incorporating boot camps as a side activity. Through a coding bootcamp, students would learn some useful tech skills in a matter of weeks. However, bootcamps are considered less effective and more challenging training for tech. Often times, they miss the heavy commitment that is required to internalize technical skills.
Through trial-and-error, a new stage has been revealed – vocational tech training as part of the degree. Rather than burning out in a week and learning little, the required tech skills become integrated into the degree plan. The digital skills are also reinforced through hands-on learning and submitted projects become work portfolios that graduates can demonstrate in technical interviews with employers.
This new stage of vocational training increases employability, makes learning tech more integrated and enjoyable, and ensures students have a skillset that is aligned with industry needs.
Two educational institutions to reference for their tech training models are SLTC Research University in Sri Lanka and and Ono Academic College in Israel.
SLTC Research University was founded in 2015. Rather than having only research-driven degree programs, SLTC wanted to work with industry leaders on creating technology degrees that directly related to Sri Lanka’s economic and industry needs. The focus on tech is therefore self explanatory.
Masters Corporate Education, SLTC’s executive education arm, also extended the institution’s offering to shorter-term reskilling and upskilling programs. One such example is their Data Analyst program. Through partnering with Wawiwa, SLTC has created a learning environment centered on cohort-based tech training. Students are reskilling to specific tech jobs in high demand, while cultivating relationships with their classmates, working on assignments together, and improving soft skills and employability through various workshops.
“We recently finished our first cohort with a 100% graduation rate,” Ranjith Rubasinghe, Founder, President, and CEO of SLTC, proudly proclaims, “What I think makes vocational training in academia so successful is that students can finally implement what they’re learning in the real world, in their jobs.”
Around 3,300 miles away, the Ono Academic College in Israel has also embedded practical tech training into a bachelor’s degree. During Ono’s BA in Information Systems, candidates not only learn the academic concepts of data, information, and business, but also get to experience hands-on tech, software coding, cyber defense, and data analysis using the latest industry tools.
“Israel is a leader in technology and education,” says Professor Arieh Gavious, Dean of the Business Administration Faculty, “It was imperative for us to reflect that while adapting to change and aligning with the industry, so our graduates could continue to find lucrative job placements in the vibrant local tech ecosystem. The BA in Information Systems now gives students the opportunity to learn and practice the technology of tomorrow, get a high paying job even during their studies, and still earn an accredited degree.”
The Face of Vocational Training
Wawiwa Tech is a tech training provider that works with university partners around the world to provide tech reskilling and upskilling programs.
Wawiwa helps train students to become Data Analysts, Cybersecurity Specialists, Software Developers, and other tech professionals as they pursue their degree. Wawiwa provides all the know how, content, and curriculum adjustments for universities to easily incorporate tech training into their degrees and executive education portfolio.